It has been estimated that ninety million American adults and children snore and that one in every ten adults snores. Although snoring has no serious medical consequences for most people, for an estimated one in one hundred snorers, habitual snoring is the first indication of a potentially life-threatening sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea. If not diagnosed or if left untreated, Obstructive Sleep Apnea could result in severe medical consequences such as systemic high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and even sudden death.
Many people think that snoring and apnea are the same thing. This is not true. Snoring, which is caused by vibration of the tissues due to air turbulence as the airway narrows, may be a sign that a patient is suffering from apnea. But not all snorers suffer from apnea.
Snoring can be categorized by its severity. At one end of the scale is the benign snorer who snores but experiences no physical problems. On the other end is the snorer who suffers from apnea, and in the middle is the snorer who suffers from upper airway resistance syndrome. In these people, though they may not actually experience apneic episodes, their snoring is so loud and their breathing so labored, that it still wakes them, and their partners, numerous times throughout the night.
Millions of spouses, partners and/or children suffer through the night by the annoying noise of the snorer. Snoring not only disturbs the sleeping pattern of the snorer himself, it is also disruptive to the family life by causing lack of sleep to all involved. This leaves all involved unrefreshed, tired and sleepy throughout the day. It can cause sleepiness while driving, reading, working or doing other tasks.
Snoring generally comes from opening the mouth while sleeping. A broad variety of intra-oral and dental appliances and devices are now available to treat a patient for snoring. The known oral devices for treating snoring and obstructive sleep are worn inside of the mouth and work by repositioning of the jaw, moving the mandible, lifting the soft palate or moving the tongue forward. The various classes of treatment devices that now exist include mandibular advancers and tongue advancers. These appliances work by advancing the tongue and jaw away from the back wall of the throat. The tongue advancers are used when the jaw joints do not tolerate stretching or when there are insufficient teeth to support a mandibular advancer. Other methods used to treat snoring include controlled positive air flow pressure systems also known as CPAP which require a nose mask and which are quite uncomfortable. The function of the CPAP treatment is enhanced using Applicant's invention.
All of these known devices suffer from having to be worn inside of the mouth, they are uncomfortable to wear and they are expensive and must be fitted and made to order. These devices also often cause excessive salivation, dry mouth or tempomandibular joint (TMJ) discomfort.
Other treatments for snoring include various surgeries, which are drastic steps to take to attempt to cure the problem, however snoring can be so disruptive to a person's life and relationships, that some sufferers resort to surgery.
Another device which has been known is that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,640,974 and 5,690,121 to Miller. Miller's device comprises a flexible sheet with adhesive, cut in a U-shape. It attempts to keep the mouth closed by covering only the “remote end” of the lips. It is highly ineffective because the two “cheek attachment” strips come loose very easily with any movement of the mouth and the entire device falls off, and because the limited covering of the mouth and lips is ineffective to keep the mouth closed. In addition, the loose ends make it difficult to apply and the backing of the tape difficult to peel off.
My prior patent. U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,232, describes a method of using tape to keep the mouth closed which aids in preventing snoring. Further research however has shown that blockage of the “snoreway space” as described herein, is both easier to use and more effective in preventing snoring.